Is Bob Brockman really cognitively impaired to the extent that he will not have the ability to assist his attorneys defend him in opposition to federal tax evasion fees? Or is he, as prosecutors contend, exaggerating his signs to keep away from a trial?
A federal choose will make that dedication now {that a} competency listening to for the previous Reynolds and Reynolds Co. CEO has concluded.
Among the many proof U.S. District Decide George Hanks Jr. will weigh: Testimony from medical specialists, shut contacts of Brockman and present and former executives of privately held Reynolds throughout the listening to that spanned eight days in November in a Houston courtroom. Hanks additionally will think about specialists’ studies, medical data, mind photographs and filings from prosecutors and protection attorneys outlining their arguments.
Hanks has not specified a choice date, although it is anticipated within the new yr. Hanks final week granted a request by Brockman’s attorneys and prosecutors looking for extra time to file briefs following the listening to that wrapped Nov. 24.
The choose should weigh nuanced testimony to find out how the case ought to proceed, attorneys who’ve labored on federal prison and tax circumstances and are usually not concerned in Brockman’s case have informed Automotive Information.
“The choose is mostly going to check kind of the load of the proof: ‘I’ve bought two folks telling me this. I’ve bought one saying this. They are not that far aside, and I discovered these two to be extra credible,’ ” mentioned Brian Hayes, a accomplice at Holland and Knight regulation agency in Chicago and former chief of the prison division for the U.S. Legal professional’s Workplace for the Northern District of Illinois.
Medical specialists retained by prosecutors and protection attorneys usually agreed that Brockman seemingly has Parkinson’s illness. However the specialists diverged on whether or not Brockman’s cognitive skills are mildly impaired or have progressed to dementia.
Three prosecution specialists testified that Brockman is exaggerating his signs, and two of them have mentioned they imagine he’s competent to face trial. Specialists retained by Brockman’s attorneys, nevertheless, mentioned they imagine his impairment extends to his reminiscence, psychological processing pace, problem-solving and judgment expertise and that he would wrestle to grasp the advanced nature of the case.
A Division of Justice spokeswoman mentioned the division usually doesn’t touch upon pending issues. Brockman’s attorneys didn’t reply to messages looking for remark.
Brockman, 80, was indicted in October 2020 on 39 counts, together with tax evasion, wire fraud, cash laundering and proof tampering. He has pleaded not responsible and stepped down from his position as chairman and CEO of dealership administration system big Reynolds in November 2020.
Prosecutors pointed to Brockman’s continuation on the helm of Reynolds — and his seemingly sturdy efficiency throughout two civil depositions in 2019 answering technical enterprise questions and recalling previous occasions — as incongruent with a time interval by which his signs of cognitive impairment have been reported to have appeared. They contend Brockman had each the motivation and the capability to malinger, or feign signs, to keep away from prosecution.
Present Reynolds CEO Tommy Barras, who testified that Brockman selected him to be his successor, and former Reynolds CFO Craig Moss testified throughout the listening to that Brockman remained concerned in essential firm choices and so they had no motive to doubt his cognitive skills.
Dr. Christopher Whitlow of Wake Forest Faculty of Drugs, a neuroradiologist retained by the protection, testified that photographs of Brockman’s mind, together with MRI and PET scans, present a sample that raises considerations about dementia. Whitlow testified that mind scans additionally present Brockman has misplaced mind quantity, elevating considerations about potential lack of cognitive perform.
A second protection medical professional, Dr. Thomas Guilmette of Windfall Faculty in Rhode Island, testified that Brockman’s deposition efficiency two years in the past couldn’t be replicated at this time and that Brockman seemingly was ready to attract on deep, retained data of the subjects at situation even when he was experiencing dementia on the time.
The difficulty of Brockman’s competency addresses solely whether or not he can perceive the case and help together with his protection for it to proceed to trial, authorized specialists have informed Automotive Information. It doesn’t decide whether or not Brockman was competent on the time of the alleged offenses.
The federal statute permits a competency listening to “if there may be affordable trigger to imagine that the defendant might presently be affected by a psychological illness or defect rendering him mentally incompetent to the extent that he’s unable to grasp the character and penalties of the proceedings in opposition to him or to help correctly in his protection.”
The statute requires judges to rule on a defendant’s competency “by a preponderance of the proof.” Former federal prosecutor Hayes has mentioned that’s akin to “extra seemingly than not.”
If Brockman is discovered to be competent, the case can proceed towards trial, attorneys have informed Automotive Information.
If a choose finds a defendant isn’t competent, the statute specifies the defendant be given therapy to find out whether or not she or he may achieve the capability to permit the case to proceed.